At the beginning of this month, CBS head Leslie Moonves stepped down from the network after a dozen women came forward with allegations that he sexual harassed or assaulted them. Shortly after that, Julie Chen—who is married to Moonves and weirdly used his name on a recent Big Brother—took a break from her gig co-hosting The Talk, with no concrete date given for when she’d return. Chen was still absent on today’s episode of The Talk, and now we know why: According to CNN, Chen has decided not to return to the show, and she’s reportedly planning to release a “videotaped message to viewers” during Tuesday’s episode.
Chen will continue to host Big Brother, possibly because someone would have to tell the houseguests about the Les Moonves allegations if she suddenly disappeared, but a source tells CNN that “she has decided that her main focus needs to be clearing her husband’s name from accusations made 25-30 years ago and tending to her son.” Chen has publicly stood by Moonves ever since the allegations first came out a few months ago, tweeting a statement back in July that referred to him as a “loving father, devoted husband, and inspiring corporate leader.”
As CNN notes, announcing her exit with a pre-taped message will allow Chen to “sidestep any awkward conversations” with her The Talk co-hosts—not to mention the public. Meanwhile, Moonves’ deal with CBS was so sweet that he stands to make $120 million just for getting ousted like this.